My experience as a participant in the “To Santiago for Deafblindness” expedition

Gabor Kimlei is a deafblind person from the Hungarian Deafblind Association

My experience participating in 2S4Db, from September 4th to 10th, 2017

4th September

We got on the 7.15 am the train from Madrid to Sarria, and we arrived at 1.10 pm. Then we took a taxi to the accommodation.

In the afternoon, we checked in the hotel and we went shopping. We went to the bakery before dinner and visited a little museum as well next to the bakery. The museum and the bakery have been owned by one family since the fifth generation.There is a little shop where the customers can buy some older equipment.

I really liked the exhibition, I saw there a lot of ancient objects. For example, there were some posters, householding pieces of equipment and games.

5th September

From Sarria to Portomarín. We started at 8:15 in the morning and reached our destination at 2.15 pm, after 22 km on foot. We walked on autoroute and on parkland. Before Portomarín there was a big stone on a housing where we crossed over the River Minho and arrived at the City Gate.

6th September

From Portomarín to Palais de Rei. On that journey, I was a bit tired because the path was bolder than before. About 12 o’clock, we met a guy, named Miguel, around La Fuente del Peregrino, who congratulated the deafblind participants. On that day, the weather was quite changeable and we went across a forest. We arrived at 2.30 pm and then went out a terrace for a bit comforting sunbathing.

7th September

From Palais de Rei to Arzúa. First, we went on the route across a parkland and on the creek by riprap. Later on, we ate and we had rest along the way. Before Arzúa, there was a little Stonebridge with a little lake. Here we went into the lake, which was very refreshing.

A serpentine path led to Arzúa. We found our hotel in the center of the town. After arriving, we took rest and had dinner. We had for supper gazpacho, grilled calamari, a slice of watermelon and lemonade.

8th September

From Arzúa to O Pedrouzo. In the beginning, there were some plain stretches, but then later on the ground became ascendant. We arrived at 1 pm to the hotel in O Pedrouzo. About 4 pm, we had dinner at “KM19”. In the evening, we had supper in another restaurant, and then we took rest in the hotel.

9th September

From O Pedrouzo to Santiago. On that day, the weather was foggy and cloudy until noon, but the journey was not difficult. Before Santiago the route was very sloping, that is why I had pain in my knee.

A local TV staff was waiting for us at the border of the town. They made an interview with one of us. Our group was very excited because the deafblind El Camino was a good challenge for us.

After that, we went together to the Cathedral Square. The local and national expedition organizers were already waiting for us, as well as local authorities. They gave us a T-shirt, a shell and after the banquet, the Compostela, a certificate of pilgrimage (at least 100 km of the final stretch are required) for each participant. It was an elevating moment for us. Our group consisted of 15 people: 3 Scottish, 10 Catalans, and 2 Hungarians.

On Sunday 1oth, early morning, the Catalan group left. At noon, the Hungarian group arrived in Madrid by bus and continued the journey to Budapest by plane.

The whole journey was very interesting and rewarding for me. I really liked that the people were friendly and helpful, and the landscape was picturesque.

I have only one thing left to say, and that is to strongly recommend the “To Santiago for deafblindness” challenge to anyone who really wanted to experience such an amazing journey with an incredible and extremely supportive professional team.